Chinese Conversation · Level 77
90 words
Chinese word
不约而同
Pronunciation
Pinyinbù yuē ér tóng
Meaning
- idiomagree spontaneously
Example
老师一提意见，学生们不约而同点了点头。lǎo shī yì tí yì jiàn xué shēng men bù yuē ér tóng diǎn le diǎn tóu
When the teacher offered an opinion, the students all spontaneously nodded in agreement.
More examples
讨论到这个问题时，大家不约而同提出意见。tǎo lùn dào zhè ge wèn tí shí dà jiā bù yuē ér tóng tí chū yì jiàn
When discussing this issue, everyone spontaneously offered their opinions at the same time.
Core concept
Several people fall into the same response at the same moment without coordinating first.
Common phrases
不约而同提出意见bù yuē ér tóng tí chū yì jiàn
spontaneously offer opinions in unison
不约而同沉默了bù yuē ér tóng chén mò le
spontaneously fall silent together
不约而同地笑了bù yuē ér tóng dì xiào le
spontaneously laugh together
Similar words
不谋而合bù móu ér hé: People reach the same view or idea on their own without first consulting one another.
异口同声yì kǒu tóng shēng: Many people speak the same words or give the same opinion in unison.
心有灵犀xīn yǒu líng xī: People share a quiet understanding of each other's thoughts or feelings without words.
Definition in Chinese
没有事先约定却同时出现相同的表现或意见méi yǒu shì xiān yuē dìng què tóng shí chū xiàn xiāng tóng de biǎo xiàn huò yì jiàn
Word origin
不 (bù, "not") + 约 (yuē, "arrange") + 而 (ér, "yet") + 同 (tóng, "same") portrays people reaching the same response without a prior arrangement.
Usage tips
- In everyday Chinese, this idiom usually works adverbially before a shared action, describing how people act rather than serving as the action itself.
Other meanings
- speak in unisonidiom
Opposites
- 各执己见gè zhí jǐ jiàninsist on one's own opinionidiom
- 意见不一yì jiàn bù yīhold different opinionsidiom